Presented to: House Technology, Economic Development, and Work Force Committee May 17, 2010

1. Presentation on House Technology, Economic Development and Workforce Charge #3 relating to review of demand for child care. Presented to: House Technology, Economic Development, and Work Force Committee May 17, 2010 Sasha Rasco, Assistant Commissioner Child Care Licensing

2. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Child Care Licensing (CCL)Keeping children safe in out-of-home care CCL regulates child-care centers and homesin order to protect the health, safety, and well-being of children in out-of-home care. • CCL investigates all reports, which allege abuse or neglect and/or violation of minimum standards in child care operations subject to regulation. • CCL conducts routine and follow-up inspections to determine if centers or operations meet minimum standards and licensing laws.

3. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Child Care Operations In FY 09, there were: • 9,342 Licensed Child Care Centers • 1,617 Licensed Child Care Homes • 6,700 Registered Child Care Homes • 7,305 Listed Family Homes Combined, these child care operations had a regulated capacity to care for 1,045,798 children.

4. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Child Care Licensing Regulatory Activities In FY 09, Child Care Licensing: • received 1,230 applications and issued 1,086 permits • conducted 14,622 investigations • conducted 46,812 inspections • initiated 321 adverse actions and 255 corrective actions

5. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Consumer Education • www.txchildcaresearch.org • Searchable database for parents • 212,030 visits to searchable database from September 2009 to February 2010 (6 months)

6. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Human Resources Code Chapter 42 • §42.042 Rules and Standards • The Department shall conducta comprehensive review of all rules and standards at least every six years. • The Department shall promulgate minimum standards that apply to licensed child-care facilities and to registered family homes...that will: • Promote the health, safety, and welfare of children attending a facility or registered family home, • Promote a safe, comfortable and healthy environment for children, • Ensure adequate supervision of children by capable, qualified, and healthy personnel, and • Ensure adequate nutrition and personal care.

7. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Goals of the Minimum Standards Review • Identify standards that require clarification or updates due to changes in research • Identify standards that are not having the intended outcome • Ensure appropriate balance between children’s health & safety and affordability & availability of care • From SB 68, develop new minimum standards for School Age Care • High Stakeholder Involvement

8. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Stakeholder Participation • July, 2009: Provider and Parent survey • September, 2009: Public Meeting of the Governor-Appointed Committee on Licensing Standards (COLS) • Fall, 2009: 42 Regional Stakeholder Meetings • Fall, 2009-Winter 2010: Subcommittee meetings of the COLS • January, 2010: Fiscal impact surveys • Email box: msc@dfps.state.tx.us

9. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Proposal for Revisions On April 20, 2010, DFPS presented to the DFPS Council a proposal for revisions to minimum standards for child-care centers and homes, including the following: • Addition of Chapter 744, Minimum Standards for School-Age and Before or After-School Programs (SB 68) • Adjusted activity and nutrition requirements to support obesity prevention • Increased the minimum required depth of loose- fill surfacing material from six to nine inches

10. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Proposed Revisions, continued • Clarified director presence requirements by specifying a minimum amount of time that a director must be present during operating hours • Revised ratios for children ages two, three, five and older • Revised group sizes for children birth through 17 months old and for two- and three-year-olds in licensed centers • Aligned the ratio and group sizes for licensed child-care homes with those for registered child-care homes

11. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Proposed Ratio Changes for Centers NAEYC= National Association for the Education of Young Children AAP=American Academy of Pediatrics * The first number is for children 24-30 months of age, the second number is for children 31-35 months of age.

12. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Proposed Group Size Changes for Centers NAEYC= National Association for the Education of Young Children AAP=American Academy of Pediatrics * The first number is for children 24-30 months of age, the second number is for children 31-35 months of age.

13. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Public Comment Period • School-Age standards: May 21st to June 21st • Center and Home standards: June 11th to July 12th • Stakeholders can submit comments via: • the DFPS web site comment form, • email to msc@dfps.state.tx.us, • letter, or • phone call.

14. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Next Steps School-Age standards: • Anticipated adoption in July 2010 • Anticipated effective date of September 1, 2010 Centers and Homes: • Anticipated adoption in October 2010 • Anticipated effective date of December 1, 2010

15. CCDF Funding in DFPS

16. Fundingfor CCL

17. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Quality Improvements $4 million in CCDF/ARRA funding to improve quality of infant/toddler care: • Educate providers through training • Educate parents through • www.babyroomtobreathe.org • Don’t Be in the Dark campaign • Educate Licensing staff through the Technical Assistance Library